The pace of replacing the old Soviet-type passports leads shows that the September 1, 2014 deadline set by the Government will not be respected and there will be yet persons who will not have their passports changed by this date. The pace has lately intensified, but this trend does not represent a guarantee that the process will be completed by the time limit. The information was provided to IPN by the State Information Resources Center “Registru”.

Between October 1 last year and August 1 this year, there were issued 106,400 identity cards instead of Soviet-type passports. On August 1, the State Population Register included 76,200 holders of Soviet-type passports. 66.9% of these passports are to be changed in rural areas, while 33.1% in urban areas.

For the procedure to be hastened, there were created 12 mobile documentation offices for replacing the passports of immobilized persons. In such cases, the mayor’s offices compile the lists of immobilized persons and present them to the offices. In concert with the office heads, they decide when the mobile team will go to the home of the immobilized person. These persons can also phone the offices and ask to have their passports replaced. In such a case, the applicant must have a disability certificate.

As a result, the number of applications from holders of Soviet-type passports increased from 10,500 in January to 22,000 in August.

For changing the identity cards, civil status documents and blood group certificates free of charge, the state will spend 27 million lei.